The impressive scale and bold ornament of this Philadelphia high chest, produced during the height of the taste for the Rococo, demonstrates the sophistication and talent of American cabinetmakers working in this style during the last half of the eighteenth century. Its ornately carved pediment is balanced by the light rocaille trails of flowers and vines along the sides, the relief-carved vignette at the bottom, and the boldly scrolled decorations along the undulating skirt and the S-curved cabriolle legs. The production of such an elaborate piece of furniture was a collaborative process, with joiners constructing the case that carvers Bernard and Jugiez then ornamented. Here the strong architectonic proportions of the case have determined the placement of its decorative carving. The scene of the fox and grapes depicted on both the bottom drawer of this chest and its matching dressing table was probably based on motifs derived from folk tales published in the eighteenth century. Jack L. Lindsey, from Philadelphia Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections (1995), p. 263.